Hiking in Paul do Boquilobo

Single Portuguese protected area having integrated the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves in June 1980, the Natural Reserve of Paul do Boquilobo occupies an area of 529 ha near the confluence of the Tagus and Almonda rivers.

Leaving Golegã towards Santarém you will find on your right a signpost to Paul do Boquilobo. You can also come from Torres Novas, via Riachos. For this tour, choose morning or afternoon but avoid the hours of more heat, especially in summer If you want a guided tour, you need to make an appointment. Bring along with you a hat, binoculars and a snack - birds are not exactly at hand - and head to the information and interpretation center based at the head-offices of the reserve. From here follow the route as signposted, respecting nature and exploring its ornithological wealth. Along the way, the shelters for fauna observation allow you to stay around in this reserve with some comfort for as long as you deem necessary. The groves of willow - white and black - and ashes, coexist with a permanently flooded area, covered by various aquatic plants, widened by an extensive area of reedbed. This is the home for an important colony of birds that nest from March to June: Cattle egrets, white herons and reddish egrets. From November to February the reserve gives shelter to several species of ducks such as the spoonbill, the pintail, the common teal and the northern shoveler. With luck you may see the tern-of-bogs and the osprey, which are rare in our country.